


Blorthog

by Vinnocent



Series: Teen Titans: Morph! [17]
Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate, Blue Beetle (Comics), DCU, Teen Titans (Animated Series), Teen Titans (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Abandonment, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Book 9: The Secret, Brainwashing, Episode s02e01: How Long is Forever?, F/M, Gen, Gun Violence, Implied/Referenced Familicide, Phobias
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-12
Updated: 2014-05-12
Packaged: 2018-01-24 12:54:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1605926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vinnocent/pseuds/Vinnocent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jake and Starfire are caught in Warp's timewarp, they find themselves twenty years in the future, where everything is fine. Absolutely nothing appears to be wrong. Save for the fact that Titans Tower has been replaced by an alien structure. Luckily, Jaime Reyes is there to help them out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. How Hidden is Your Secret?

Jake turned to look behind him. Nothing there. In the distance, he heard the usual commotion of Titans Tower’s main room. There was no real reason to feel so creeped out or act so vigilant in the headquarters of an accomplished superhero team, but… well… it did get broken into a lot. He was basically living inside a giant target.

Jake turned around again. Still nothing. He really needed to-- “Hi, Fearless Leader!” Marco said, tackling him from a dark corner.

“AGH!” said Jake. They fell to the floor where no amount of angry shoving was going to get Marco off of him. “What is wrong with you?” Jake demanded with exaggerated anger.

“I think he missed you,” said Cassie, standing over them with a smirk.

Jake grinned back up at her, blushing. “Hi, Cassie,” he said.

“Hi, Jake,” Cassie said.

“Why hello, Marco,” Marco said.

“Marco, get off of me,” said Jake, pushing uselessly again.

Instead, Marco moved to sit on his stomach. “Not until you agree to go on mission with us,” he told him. Then, “I know why _we’re_ in our morphing outfits, but why you?”

“Robin insists everyone be in uniform all the time, and I have no other uniform.” Jake propped himself up on his elbows. “What mission?” he asked.

Cassie glanced up the hall before answering, “The Yeerks are trying to develop parts of the forest that are slightly less protected in hopes of flushing out the ‘Andalite Bandits,’” she explained. “They’re getting really close to-- Does anyone else hear jingling?”

“Is this development project that had to get approved by that Farrand guy?” Jake asked.

Marco blinked down at him. “Uh, yeah,” he said. “How did you know?”

Jake pushed Marco back off of him. “Robin already found out,” he explained. He stood up and brushed himself off. “Pulled some strings with some rich guy to get the whole project bought out. I think Batman might have also done the intimidation thing to Farrand on his way out.”

Marco just blankly stared up at him. “I have no idea how to feel about that,” he admitted. He raised a hand for Jake to grab and help him up.

“Marco, you don’t like fighting,” Cassie reminded him. “Neither do I. Shouldn’t we be grateful?”

“We should,” Marco agreed, “it’s just… Found your jangling.” He pointed past Cassie and Jake, and they turned to see Starfire creeping up the hall with a huge armload of wrapped packages and… bells? Or at least it seemed to be Starfire’s legs under the load, so Jake presumed she was the one carrying it.

“Uh… Starfire?” Jake asked hesitantly as Cassie pulled him and Marco out of the way against the wall.

Starfire paused, then turned sideways to look past her packages. “Animorphs! Greetings! Just a moment!” She shifted her load into one arm and dug out three packages for them, shoving each directly into their arms. “Happy Blorthog!” she cried, grinning.

Cassie, Jake, and Marco stared back at her. “Is that… some kind of alien Christmas?” asked Marco.

“It is the Tamaranean festival of friendship!” Starfire exclaimed happily. She shifted her weight again to pull strings of bells off her arms.

“We’re not--,” Marco started, but Cassie and Jake both immediately clamped their hands over his mouth.

Starfire glanced at him, pausing. “We are not what?” she asked.

“We’re not prepared for this,” Jake lied quickly.

“Well, you are not Tamaranean, and we have not known each other long,” she said. She dropped a string of bells around his neck. “I, Starfire, present to you this tinnabula as a symbol of my bright, joyous friendship toward you!”

“... _toward_ me?” Jake repeated.

Ignoring him, Starfire did the same to Cassie, who grinned despite her confusion. “Thank you, Starfire,” she said, still uncertain as to what had prompted this. “I’ll treasure these.”

But when Starfire reached for Marco, he ducked aside. “I’m allergic to bells,” he growled.

Starfire looked stricken. “You… You are?” she said uncertainly.

“Hey, Starfire,” Jake interrupted, “maybe you want to go give symbols of your friendship to your _other_ friends?”

Starfire grinned brightly. “Yes! I was just on my way! Follow me! We must all frolic and leap in glorious celebration!” she said, running off. Soon, she was out of sight.

“Is she _serious_?” Marco demanded.

Jake hurriedly gestured for him to keep his voice down, glancing off the way Starfire had gone. “Look, ever since she stopped letting that Yeerk in her head, she has been a roller coaster,” Jake explained. “She’s always bouncing off the walls or sobbing at television commercials or destroying _everything_ on the practice field or being a totally zoned-out robot. The last thing I need is for you to--"

He was interrupted by a sobbing wail in the distance.

“-- make it worse.”

The three Animorphs entered the main room to find Robin desperately pleading with a crying Starfire whose presents and bells had fallen around her feet. “I… Star… I can’t… I don’t know what that is,” he was saying between her mixed language sobs. Raven, at one end of the couch, had her fingers in her ears, a book in her lap, and was glaring with red eyes. In the middle of the couch, Cyborg still had Beast Boy in a headlock as they stared at Starfire.

“What happened?” asked Cassie, concerned.

Robin shrugged helplessly. “Something about Rekmas?” He glanced at them. “Why are you wearing bells?”

Cassie pointed to Starfire. “She gave them to us. As a symbol of friendship. For Blorthog.”

“Blorthog?” Robin repeated. He pointed to Marco. “And him?”

“He… he is… he is al- allergic,” Starfire sniffled, attempting to hold back her tears.

Robin narrowed his eyes suspiciously but returned his attention to Starfire. “Okay,” he said. “I think, somewhere, something got miscommunicated. What is Rekmas and Blorthog?”

“Re-rekmas is what my pe-people call the drifting,” Starfire whimpered. “The point at which close friends begin to drift apart, and their friendship begins to die. And Blorthog is… is… Our Blorthog is ruined!” And then she was sobbing again.

Raven threw her book at Cyborg and Beast Boy. “See what happens you argue so loudly?” she demanded.

“Us?!” Cyborg demanded, releasing Beast Boy. “Who here was just--?!” Starfire began sobbing even more loudly, and Cyborg cut himself off with an “Oh.”

“Starfire, we aren’t drifting,” Robin tried to reassure her.

“We’re just getting on each other’s nerves a little,” said Raven. “Big deal.”

“It happens with all roommates,” said Beast Boy.

Starfire quietened to a sniffle again. “It does?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah,” said Robin. “We’re not going to drift apart, Star. I promise. We’ll all be friends forever.”

Starfire wiped her eyes with her fingers. “Forever?” she repeated.

“Well, that’s gonna get misinterpreted something weird and alien,” Marco grumbled, and Robin shot him an angry glare, but all discussion was cut off when an alarm on Robin’s communicator went off.

He picked it up, then turned to his team, “Titans! Trouble!” On cue, everyone headed to the elevator. After a few steps, Robin groaned, ran back, and grabbed Jake. “That means you, too, Tiger,” he said, pulling him along. “And you two go home!”

“What? Since when?!” Jake demanded.

“Do you think I’ve been kicking your butt for nothing?” Robin said, laughing.

“Yeah, kinda.”

Robin shoved him into the elevator with Cyborg. Beast Boy, Raven, and Starfire opted instead to fly out. “Like we said, everyone who lives here is a hero. Eventually, you _will_ be noticed as a resident. It’s easier to go ahead and claim you as a member of the team.”

“This speech is sounding vaguely familiar,” Jake admitted.

“You tuned out, didn’t you?” Cyborg asked with a knowing grin.

Jake shrugged. “Probably.”

Robin shot both of them a look, then said, “Look, just stick to what I’ve taught you and morph tiger if things get hairy. Single-form animal transformations aren’t uncommon among metahumans and magic users. They’re usually smoother, though, so it would be nice if no one saw the transformation.”

“I’m sorry, were you saying something?” Jake teased, and Cyborg flicked him on the back of the head.

－ －

Warp pressed a blue lens on his breastplate. “Ta-ta, Titans!” he exclaimed as Jake finished his morph behind one of the displays. If this guy was a read-up on Teen Titans as he claimed, he probably was not expecting Jake. “I have enjoyed our time together, but I've got a very bright future ahead of me!”

<Starfire! Robin! Ready?> Jake called, seeing them raise into crouches. They gave slight nods and raced forward just as Warp began to step into his portal.

“What?” Warp grunted as Jake jumped on him and Starfire tackled them both.

“STA--!”

Suddenly, they were somewhere else. White and black and swirling, surrounded by clocks and by ticking. Magic? Whatever had happened, there was only one way out. Jake raised a paw.

“Stop!” Warp cried. “If you damage the suit before we reach my future--" But Jake swiped a paw across his front lens, knocking it off. “No!”

Suddenly, Jake was dropped onto his shoulder on a rocky shore. <Ow.> He jumped when Starfire crashed down next to him. “Ow,” she said.

Jake looked around. <Do you see Warp?> he asked.

“No.” She bit her lip worriedly. “Do you see our friends?”

<No, but I see _that_. >

Starfire turned to follow his gaze. On the same small island within Jump Bay where Titans Tower should be was, instead, a large silver-blue, spike-shaped tower with bright green pod-like projections that reminded Jake of fly eyes or maybe a bug nest. “X’hal frennar,” Starfire whispered, dropping to her knees as she stared at the thing in horror. “X’hal frennar. Frennar!”

<Uh, what does that mean?> asked Jake, confused.

“It is a prayer for mercy,” she whispered. She was still staring.

Jake stepped carefully over the rocks down next to her. <Look, I know it’s shocking, but that guy said he was from the future. I guess there’s been some changes. We just need to find him and find a way back.>

Starfire shook her head. “You do not understand. You do not know what--.”

“Hi,” said a voice behind them, making them jump. They turned to see an attractive man with dark olive skin and a slight amount of stubble standing behind them, wearing a dark jeans, a blue hoodie, and sneakers. He was smiling brightly at them. “You are Starfire and Killer, are you not?”

Jake glowered. <Killer?> he asked.

The man blinked. “Did I misidentify?”

Starfire looked back at the tower, then at him again. “Who are you?” she asked.

He smiled again and extended a hand. “I’m Jaime Reyes. I’m the Blue Beetle.”


	2. Is Forever within Reach?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It should be said that neither me nor mademoisellePlume are super familiar with the characterization of the various Green Lanterns. I apologize if any of them act out-of-character.

Jaime walked with them into town to the police station, where he claimed they could receive help with their disorientation, which Starfire had refused to go into detail about. “What about other heroes?” Jake asked, looking around at a perfectly normal Jump City. As irritated as he was at his new place among the Teen Titans, he was eternally grateful to be able to borrow Beast Boy’s shoes. Mask and unitard aside, he _almost_ looked normal.

“Clarify?” said Jaime, raising an eyebrow.

Did everyone in the future talk like that? “I mean, we got tossed around and…” He gave a significant look to Starfire who was gesturing wildly at him behind Jaime’s back. “... had our memories messed up. Isn’t that more JLA than JCPD?”

Jaime’s face was blank.

“I mean… What happened to Titans Tower?” Jake tried.

Jaime smiled brightly again. “Following the end of the Yeerk War, Earth has seen a new era of peace and prosperity,” he explained. “Few heroes are required anymore.”

Jake’s eyes widened. “The… The Yeerk War?”

“The war against the Yeerk Empire,” Jaime clarified.

“That… People know about that?” Jake demanded, hurrying forward to step in front of Jaime.

Jaime’s eyes flashed briefly yellow. “Yes,” he said. Then he smile again. Said, then smiled. In that order.

Jake found himself objecting, though he wasn’t sure at what. “But…”

“How was it won?” asked Starfire. Her voice was low and unamused. Jake glanced between them, starting to get the feeling that he was missing something.

“Do you not know?” Jaime asked.

“I am measuring what you know,” Starfire claimed.

That flash of yellow again. Then a smile. “You won it,” he explained. “Clarification: The actions of the hero known as Kori’zzon served as a major turning point. However, Kori’zzon is the united identity of Koriand’r of Tamaran and Phyzzon 355. As Phyzzon 355 is not with you, it would be incorrect to identify you as Kori’zzon.”

“Kori’zzon?” Jake repeated, a little horrified to hear that Starfire would inevitably let that slug back in her ear.

But Starfire had noted a different part of his speech. “How do you know Phyzzon 355 is not with me?” she asked. She pulled Jake aside to let Jaime pass ahead of them.

“I scanned you on approach,” said Jaime with a matter-of-fact tone. He then paused and turned, bright yellow eyes peering into the sky, where something green was streaking toward them quickly. “As I do with all intruders.”

The blur stopped directly in front of them, revealing a young woman with a high, long ponytail who was wearing a green, black, and white uniform that identified her as a Green Lantern. She looked quite a bit like Jaime. “‘Intruder’?” she repeated. “¿De verdad crees que eso es justo?”

Jaime straightened, clasping his hands behind his back, but Jake could hear some kind of mechanical whirring and clacking going on under his hoodie. “Milagro. ¿Qué te trae por aquí?”

“Criminales intergalácticos estan dentro de la jurisdicción de las Linternas Verdes,” she answered. She grinned broadly and put her fists against her hips with her elbows out, her feet spread confidently.

“Criminales?” Jaime repeated. He gestured to Starfire and Jake for appeal. “These are war heroes, Milagro.”

“Feeling less functional, bugaloo?” Milagro snarled viciously. “Surely, you are capable of noticing that these are kids and not in their 30s?”

Jaime looked at them again. Somehow, it seemed, he actually hadn’t noticed until then.

“We’ve been on the lookout for those missing shapeshifters,” Milagro said. “These are obviously them.”

“Oh, drat!” Starfire suddenly exclaimed. “You have certainly made the revelation of our identity!” She held out her wrists. “Please take custody of us so that we might be brought to justice!”

Jake shot her an incredulous look. “What the #####?” he hissed.

Milagro leaned in toward Jaime, sneering. “Adelante, chinche,” she spat. “Revise las bases de datos. Vea si estoy mintiendo acerca de los metamorfos.”

The whirring increased in volume, but Jaime only glared at her.

Milagro smirked. “Right. I’ll just take them into custody, then,” she said, shoving past him. She wrapped an arm around Jake’s waist then turned to Starfire. “You can fly right?” she asked. Starfire nodded, and Milagro replied, “Good. That’ll take a load off the ring.”

“Milagro,” Jaime said behind her in a pleasant tone.

Milagro winced and snarled. She looked over her shoulder at him. “¿Y qué más?” she snapped.

He smiled sadly. “I miss you, Milagro,” he plead quietly. “We should really get together again. You. Me. The family.”

Milagro’s fingers dug into Jake’s side hard enough to leave bruises. “Usted no los encontrará nunca, y no puede hacer que le pegue,” she snarled. Then, she was shooting up into the air, Starfire tight on her heels.

－ －

“I don’t understand,” Jake said before an audience of John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Jade, Arisia Rrab, and Kilowog, in addition to their rescuer, Milagro. They were gathered in a barn on the fringe of Smallville, which Milagro had assured them was the nearest safe area. “Reyes said--"

“That _thing_ is not Jaime Reyes,” Milagro snarled. “It’s _not_ my brother.”

That statement hit Jake right in the gut. “Okay,” he said, feebly. “But I don’t--"

“That was a Reach Infiltrator?” asked Starfire, interrupting.

Stewart nodded. “Yeah," he said. "You recognized it?”

“I was not sure with the armor hidden away,” said Starfire. “But I recognized the Reach architecture in Jump Bay, and then _that_ immediately greeted our arrival there in a manner typical to Infiltrators in Persuasion Phase.”

“Do you have experience with them?” demanded Rrab.

Starfire shook her head. “I am sorry,” she said. “I know of the Reach because the Citadel makes sure to spread knowledge of their tactics. The Citadel do not wish to lose territory.”

“I’m only getting more confused,” said Jake. “Jai-- _Whoever_ said that there weren’t heroes anymore, but then _she_ shows up apparently to save us from someone who wasn’t threatening us, bring us to what is apparently a secret Green Lantern headquarters in a _barn_ , and everyone starts dropping words I don’t know. Can we just… go over the basics, please?”

Milagro rolled her eyes. “Tch. Time-travelers.”

“I know right?” Jade agreed.

“It’s not important,” said Gardner. “The future’s our job. The past is yours. All we have to do is get you back. Do you know what date you left from?”

Jake told them.

“That’s… That’s only about twenty years ago,” said Kilowog.

“Whoa, better reign in all that wild and crazy time-travel!” Milagro teased. “You never know where you’ll end up!”

“With such a big jump, I’m surprised we speak the same language,” said Gardner.

“That would have required _huge_ power use!” Milagro gasped. “Did you use a C or a D battery?”

Stewart hit both of them. “Be quiet,” he ordered. “You could tell by looking at them it wasn’t a big jump.” Milagro and Gardner promptly stuck their tongues out at him.

“Well, I’m disturbed,” said Rrab, studying Milagro and Gardner with narrowed eyes.

“Why did they assign Gardner to train _anyone_?” Jade complained.

“Hey!” Gardner objected, but Stewart only shrugged and guessed, “I think they just wanted him out of the way for a while.”

“Sounds about right,” Milagro agreed to further loud objection by her mentor.

Jake was thoroughly unimpressed. “Look, we didn’t chose to come here. We were fighting a villain called Warp. He jumped. We jumped with him. He dropped us here.”

Milagro swore loudly. At least, Jake was pretty sure it was a swear. “If the Reach get their hands on a time-traveler…” she said.

“Alright, let’s--" Gardner started, but Stewart shook his head.

“We handle this, the Reach will be on it in a second,” Stewart said.

Gardner growled in irritation. Behind him, Milagro flew up into the loft. “All we ever do is sit around and wait for them to act,” Gardner snapped. “Then, once they do, all we do is show up and shake our fingers at them!”

“We also serve as a reminder,” said Kilowog. “The Green Lantern Corps will _not_ allow an invasion of Earth.”

Jade dodged a tossed hay bale and shot a glare up at Milagro in the loft. “And a distraction,” Jade added. “As long as they’re focusing on The Last Heroes of Earth, no one notices Justice acting. No one believes they continue to survive.”

“Hey, quiet!” Milagro snapped from above them. “Morse code in code is hard!”

“You could have asked if we agreed it was a good idea to get Justice involved,” Rrab called up to her.

“Could have,” Milagro agreed. Below with the rest of the group, Guy Gardner grinned like a proud father.

“No really, what were the Guardians thinking?” Jade repeated.

“That Woman asks the same question every time I see her,” Stewart confessed, though who he was referring to wasn’t quite clear to Starfire and Jake.

“They want me to ditch you in California, then divert Reach attention,” Milagro said, peeking over the side of the loft. “They said to use bird morph and the Superstar hologram and head to where you remember Ax’s scoop as being.”

“Whose what?” Gardner demanded, but Milagro only shrugged. She then gathered her feet under her and jumped off the loft platform, falling into a stack of hay with a delighted “Oompf!”

“Um, before we go,” said Starfire. “There is a favor I would like to ask of Milagro?”

Milagro stood and brushed loose straw off her costume. “Yeah, sure,” she said. “What is it?”

“I was wondering if I could kiss you,” Starfire said, blushing.

Milagro tilted her head and raised her eyebrow. The rest of the Corps looked just as skeptical. “What for?” Milagro asked. “The rescue wasn’t _that_ grand.”

“I would like to learn Spanish,” said Starfire.

Milagro stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. “I’ve heard worse excuses,” she admitted, then leaned forward and kissed Starfire on the cheek, only for Starfire to turn and kiss her full on the lips.

“Gracias,” Starfire said happily.

“I thought Tamaraneans exchanged knowledge through _any_ physical contact,” said Kilowog.

Starfire blushed. “Well… Technically… I mean…”

Milagro laughed loudly. “You little #####,” she accused.

She led them toward the door, but Stewart called out to them. “Starfire. Killer. Remember this: The Reach play the long game. We have a century to win our war against them. You have three years with the Yeerks before they begin open invasion,” he explained.

“Trust us,” said Jade. “We’ve _tried_ altering things. This _has_ to play out. Whatever you learn about how this happened; don’t change it. Trust us to take care of our time. You go take care of yours.”

Once the door was closed, Jake turned to Milagro. “Do you agree with what they said?” he asked, ignoring the look Starfire shot him.

Milagro smiled half-heartedly. “Do you mean, given half a chance to change history, would I throw the world under the bus to save my brother? In a _heartbeat_ ,” she said. “But Jaime? He’d have a hernia if he knew. So I play by the rules. Act like a proper good guy. A real hero. Like the one he was. Which means, as much as it kills me, yes, you need to let this happen.”


	3. Is Justice Forever?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so the world-building here gets REALLY au. It's no longer based strictly on /one/ DC universe. The universe of the Teen Titans animated series gets priority, and I try to stick fairly close to it. From there, I've taken inspiration from the Blue Beetle comics and the Young Justice animated series as well as the Marv Wolfman's run of the Teen Titans comics, but all that is only inspiration. Because all of those sources exist in universes dissimilar to that of the Teen Titans animated series, it's impossible to integrate them without changing certain details. (Not to mention changes to all of it necessitated simply by sharing a universe with Animorphs.)

Eventually, Starfire and Jake made their way past various Reach drones to the place where Ax’s scoop had once been. There was no longer any sign of anyone having ever lived there, but Jake assured Starfire all of twelve time that he was absolutely sure that they were in the right place.

<Identify yourselves,> came a familiar voice in their head. Looking around, Jake saw a bird in the branches.

Starfire turned off her hologram. “Koriand’r of Tamaran. Also known as Starfire,” she said.

Jake hopped off Starfire’s shoulder and demorphed into his human form. “Jake Berenson,” he said. At least, if that was a mistake, he’d have twenty years before he had to deal with it again.

<Alias?> they were pressed.

“I… don’t have one?” Jake said, confused.

<Is that a question or a statement?>

“Rachel, you ##### know it’s me,” Jake growled.

<Haha, yeah.> The bald eagle squawked happily. <Oh man, you have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to see the day you fall into the future. This is great. You’re such a tiny dork.>

“Thanks ‘cuz,” Jake said, rolling his eyes.

<Well, let’s go change into something swimmable,> Rachel said, dropping to the forest floor and beginning to demorph. <We’re heading to Sub Diego.>

－ －

In the submerged portion of San Diego, there was a derelict warehouse recessed into a cliffside in an area that had yet to be refitted for aquatic living. Or so it seemed. After swimming inside, Rachel pressed her dolphin nose to a panel on the far wall. The wall peeled back, revealing a small chamber. They went in, and the wall closed behind them. Slowly, the water began to drain out and Rachel and Jake demorphed. Starfire just stood there with her arms crossed, looking soggy and grumpy.

“I want to go home,” she complained as soon as she had air.

The wall in front of them began to peel downward, revealing a version of Nightwing that was _far_ more grown-up than the last time Jake or Starfire had seen him. “I think we can do something about that,” he said with a kind smile.

Starfire screamed in glee and flew out from the still draining water to throw her arms around him. “Rob-- Nightwing!” she cried.

He pat her once on the back but looked a bit confused. “Come on, Star, it can’t have been that long since you saw the version of me that you know,” he said.

“There is Reach architecture where our home should be,” she said, hugging him tightly as tears welled in her eyes. “I thought our friends might be dead.”

Nightwing frowned and touched her on the back for a moment before gently pulling her off. “Everyone is okay,” he assured her. “Come and see.”

The four of them walked over platforms and pathway of wet wooden boards. In the dark water, Jake could see flashes of movement and, somewhere in the deep distance, a small golden glow. They followed Nightwing around a corner to the largest platform which housed a massive work station with computers and lab equipment. High above it all was a large screen depicting a revolving Jaime Reyes next to video clips of a blue and black armor suit in action. At the top of the screen, in bold white letters, were the words “Enemy #1: Jaime Reyes. Host. Reach Infiltrator.” There were other screens identifying other members of the Reach.

On the platform with the computers, however, they quickly sighted Cyborg, wires hooked into all his ports, busily fussing over the equipment with Adam Strange, a Hork-Bajir, and several metallic dogs while a red-headed woman napped in her chair in the corner with her hat pulled down over her face. But it was Beast Boy, half bald and a bit tubby but still very much himself, who saw them first. “Kory! Jake!” He bounded over as a lemur and sat on Starfire’s head.

Starfire giggled and reached up to pet him. Cyborg grinned down at her. “Star! Hi!” he said waiving.

“Hello, my friend!” she called, floating up slightly while being careful to keep Beast Boy secure on her head. “It is good to see you well!” She reached out and tugged at Nightwing’s arm. “Has the team not seen me in some time?” she asked tentatively.

“Oh, that’s not it,” he assured her. “It’s just… Well… This version of you is something of a novelty.”

“Novelty?” Starfire repeated. “This version?”

“They haven’t seen your pre-Transformation form in well over a decade,” said a voice above and behind her, and Starfire turned to see Raven, clad in a white version of her old costume, and… Well, it looked like her. But it was very, _very_ different.

“Oh… my… god,” Jake babbled.

Kori’zzon slowly floated down to the wooden pathway, a fiery contrail following the movement of their huge mass of curly hair and causing steam to rise from the soaked boards. They were even taller than Nightwing, and they were wearing one of the bolder costumes of a Tamaranean warrior. “We do hope you’re impressed,” they said, smirking.

Starfire made a small squeaking sound.

Jake turned to Rachel, whose athletic body had undergone its own change in the past twenty years, transforming from a gawky gymnast to a sturdy weight-lifter. “What about our people?” he asked.

“Well, Marco’s somewhere down there with his mom,” Rachel said pointing at the water beneath them. “ _Prince_ Aximili is out on mission with Cassie and Tobias. And you’re in jail.”

Jake’s mouth dropped open. “I’m _what_?”

“Dude, you ##### up,” Rachel said by way of explanation.

The corner of Nightwing’s mouth twitched. “Do you always have to be so crass?” he asked.

“It’s the end of the world, baby!” Rachel exclaimed, throwing up her arms in celebration. “I can say what I want!”

Nightwing rolled his eyes and shook his head. He continued on toward the main platform. “Starfire, Jake, let me introduce you to Adam Strange, Toby Hamee, and the Chee. And back there is La Dama.” The redhead barely lifted a hand in greeting, not quite as asleep as she seemed. The hand was holding a pistol.

“Toby… Hamee?” Starfire asked, looking back nervously at Kori’zzon.

Kori’zzon shrugged. “We came to an agreement,” they explained. “For the sake of our mutual interests.”

“Agreement?” Starfire repeated.

“If it comes within reach, I get to kill it,” Toby grunted, not looking up from her computer screen.

“Which is why we are still standing back here,” Kori’zzon said with a pleasant smile. Toby growled in response.

Beast Boy leapt off of Starfire’s head back to the top of his abandoned computer console, where he transformed back. He bent to look down at the screen. “Uh, oh. Aximili just reported in. The Reach got to Warp first.”

“Oh no!” cried Starfire. “But I do not think their intentions are to bring him to justice!”

Jake raised an eyebrow. “Also, we can’t get home without him,” he reminded her.

“Prepare for incoming swimmer,” a computerized voice announced.

“Aximili says the suit was damaged in the battle to a degree that satisfies him,” Beast Boy reported. “He suggests that we now concentrate our efforts on the nanoprobes.” Beast Boy looked back at them, confused. “What nanoprobes?”

Cyborg’s eyes widened, and he spun toward Jake and Rachel, nearly ripping his wires out. “Slade’s probes! When we went on the mission to stop Warp, Ax and I still hadn’t perfected the tech to get them out!”

“He’s dead,” said a new woman, dropping down from a higher platform onto one of the walkways. Her costume looked suspiciously similar to Slade’s. “He can’t do anything to those probes now.”

“We’ve heard that story before,” Raven drawled.

“Cyborg, set up to remove their nanoprobes A.S.A.P.” Nightwing ordered. “I don’t want anyone figuring out how to track those. Rose, was it necessary to leave your post just to chime in?” Behind him, La Dama finally stood, tossed the hat aside, and reached behind her chair, pulling out what looked like a military rifle.

Rose rolled her head back. Probably because it would be difficult to tell if she rolled her eyes behind that mask. “No, it was necessary to leave my post because the computer announced an incoming swimmer, and everyone stationed at this base has been accounted for,” she explained. She looked past them and pulled her swords out of their sheaths. “Oh look. I was right again.”

Everyone turned to the passage that Starfire, Jake, and Rachel had come in through. There, behind the slowly lowering wall, was a humanoid figure clad in black and blue armor of an insectile design. The same one from the warning bulletin above them. It raised an arm, and a massive particle cannon sprouted and began to charge.

Nightwing and Rachel grabbed Jake and Starfire and pulled them into the water. Jake only caught a glimpse of Beast Boy jumping onto Cyborg’s back to pull out cords, Toby Hamee pushing Adam Strange to the floor, Raven and Kori’zzon flying out of the way, and La Dama ducking down with her back against the consoles before everything exploded with blinding blue-white light.

Nightwing was able to pull a breathing apparatus from his belt and put it over Jake’s mouth and nose, but he didn’t pull out another one. Rachel signed something at him, and Nightwing shrugged helplessly.

That was when a bronze-colored mermaid shot up from the depth. No, not mermaid. A mer… Marco? He was wearing a long sleeved shirt with lighted swirls across the sleeves and thick collar. There was a black man with blond hair and tattoos very similar to the swirls on Marco’s shirt right at his side. Just as they neared the surface, Marco’s tail split into black-clad legs, and the two jumped out of the water, grabbed the edge of the platform, and rolled up onto their feet and into action in perfect unison.

Apparently reassured of their safety, Rachel let go of Starfire and grabbed the platform to surface for breath, Nightwing following. Above them, Rose and the two Atlanteans took turns leaping at the Reach Infiltrator with their weapons. Swords on Rose’s part and shape-shifting weapons of water from the two Atlanteans, including tag-team moves with even larger weapons. All the while, Kori’zzon and Raven rained down blasts of energy. From behind the consoles, Cyborg shot at the Reach Infiltrator with his sonic cannon while La Dama fired off shots at every opportunity left by the heroes.

The Reach Infiltrator was damaged but not nearly enough to stop it. One by one, it blasted each enemy into the water. Rachel pushed into her bear morph as Beast Boy and Toby Hamee charged forward, still covered by Cyborg and La Dama.

Someone pulled Jake and Starfire back down into the water by their ankles. They tried to kick free, but it was too late. They were falling, like going through a water slide with way too much water, and finally they fell through onto the floor of the museum, water spilling around them.

“Starfire! Jake!” Robin cried, running forward to meet them. Then, “Why are you wet?”

“Saved them from Water World,” said a voice above them. They turned to look at a blond, tanned, muscular, white guy wearing a shiny gold and blue uniform. He looked like he could be some small town’s favorite football star. “Hi there,” he greeted with a broad, white grin. “Booster Gold.”

Jake just squinted up at him. “Who?”

“C’mon,” said Booster. “Hero of the 25th century? Came back to--? Oh, nevermind. Kids these days.”

“I do not understand,” Starfire said, raising to her feet. “How did we make return?”

Booster Gold proudly indicated his own grinning self with his thumb. “Time traveler,” he explained. “Read the old file on me saving your hineys, so I went and saved your hineys. You’re welcome, by the way.”

“You couldn’t have done it _slightly earlier_?!” Jake raged.

“Actually, no,” snapped Booster. “I needed to wait until the Reach stopped tracking you. I have been assured that it does not go well if they start chasing _me_.”

“But we were tracked all the way to the base!” Jake yelled. He punched Booster in the shoulder.

Booster took a step back and grabbed Jake’s wrist when he tried again. “You think I’m not mad about that time period? You have no idea what I’ve lost that made that happen. What I _can’t_ get back. Sit down and listen kid; you’re about to learn a valuable lesson.”

He tossed Jake aside, then walked back to the display case that Warp had emptied. “War. Conflict. Those things make history, sure, but not the way you really want.” From a heavy pouch at his side, Booster pulled out the clock that Warp had stolen. “Sometimes, to make history, you have to change something small. Something no one looks at twice.” He lifted up the case and replaced the clock.

“I am afraid I do not understand,” said Starfire.

Booster Gold turned to her with another broad grin. “Warp stole this clock because history said it would disappear from here, at this time, stolen by him. Guaranteed success. But look! There it is, sitting pretty!”

“Replacing the clock… changes history?” said Beast Boy, still looking confused.

Booster winked and pointed at him. “Now, you’ve got it!”

“But… what does a clock change?” asked Jake.

Booster shrugged. “No idea!” he admitted. “Let’s find out!” And then he opened another portal and disappeared.

Robin stepped forward and put his hand on Starfire’s and Jake’s shoulders. “Are you okay?” he asked. “What happened?”

Jake bit his lower lip, uncertain, but Starfire spread her hands helplessly. “The Green Lanterns told us not to tell anyone anything that could change things,” she explained. “They said that the things we would try to prevent needed not to be prevented.”

“But _we’re_ fine,” Jake said. He glanced to Starfire to confirm this, and she nodded.

“Alright,” said Robin. “Starfire. Jake. Beast Boy. Raven. Go ahead home. Cyborg and I will make sure security has been repaired and reinforced before following you back.”

－ －

Unable to sleep, Jake wandered into the main room only to find Starfire in the kitchen with her head in the fridge. “Oh, hi, Starfire,” he said.

She looked up at him and closed the door, saying something that might have been “Oh! Hello, Jake!” were it not for the spoon in her mouth.

“Can’t sleep either?” he asked.

She removed the spoon from her mouth. “That may be the case when I attempt sleep,” she informed him, “but the reason that I am awake now is because my sleep cycles are not synced with the Earth’s solar revolutions, and I do not have Phyzzon with me to manipulate my hormones to simulate synchronization.”

“Ah,” said Jake. He wasn’t entirely certain he understood everything she’d just said, but he thought he had the idea. He took a seat on one of the stools at the counter. “So you haven’t reunited even after…?”

Starfire sighed and took a seat across from him. “I think, perhaps, it is a good thing that Kori’zzon will happen,” she said. “But… that does not change how I feel now. Phyzzon could have told me those things early on. I would not have liked it, but I think I might have accepted it.” She shook her head. “And it should have been my right to not accept it. I do not enjoy being lied to. I had thought Phyzzon would never do that to me. To know that he would… has… It does hurt.”

She smiled across the counter at him. “I understand you do not sympathize,” she said. "You are not obligated to act otherwise.”

“Actually,” Jake said. He leaned back on his stool and looked at the clock over her head. “Yeah, I mean, I don’t know about _him_ , but… You know earlier, when you said you had friendship toward me?”

Starfire nodded. “Yes,” she said. “I understand that you are not fond of me, but I do enjoy your presence here. I do enjoy you.”

Jake lowered his eyes and fidgeted guiltily. “Yeah, well… Sorry about that. I just wanted to say that… I think we could have friendship _with_ each other. I think… I think you’re alright.”

Starfire screamed happily and soared up into the air, making Jake wince. “Greatest joy!” she proclaimed. “This is the best Blorthog gift I could receive!”

“Starfire, people are trying to _sleep_!” Jake pled desperately.

Starfire ignored him and flew to the fridge. “We shall celebrate with a traditional Tamaranean feast of--"

“ _Oh please, god, no,_ ” Jake moaned.

She looked over her shoulder, pouting and appearing on the edge of grief. “No?” she repeated.

Jake squirmed. “I just… I don’t have nine stomachs to digest that stuff with,” he said quickly.

Starfire thought about that for a moment. “Then… we shall celebrate with the traditional Earth feasting of the ‘junk food’?” she suggested hopefully.

Jake grinned. “Now, _that_ I can get behind.”


End file.
